The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors that have contact modules.
Some electrical systems utilize an electrical connector, such as a receptacle or header connector, to interconnect a circuit board and at least one pluggable module. The electrical connector is mounted to the circuit board. For example, the electrical connector includes electrical terminals with tails that terminate to conductive vias on the circuit board. The circuit board has signal traces routed from the conductive vias. An opposite end of the electrical terminals may extend into a mating interface of the electrical connector for electrical connection to a circuit card or electrical contacts of a corresponding pluggable module mated to the electrical connector. A conductive signal pathway is formed that includes the circuit card or an electrical contact of the pluggable module, the electrical terminal of the electrical connector that engages the circuit card or electrical contact, and the signal trace routed from the conductive via that engages the electrical terminal.
Due to size constraints of electrical connectors, increasing density of electrical terminals in electrical connectors, and the desire for smaller connector footprints, the signal traces on the circuit board are routed away from the footprint of the electrical connector in close proximity to one another and often in multiple layers of the circuit board. As the density of electrical terminals in the electrical connector increases, there is less space between corresponding vias of the circuit board to route the signal traces away from the connector footprint. Signal trace routing is further complicated when the electrical terminal tails at the connector footprint are arranged in various groupings or arrays that do not provide designated routes for signal traces between the corresponding vias that engage the electrical terminal tails. One known way to accommodate additional electrical terminal tails is to increase the number of layers of the circuit board used to route the signal traces away from the connector footprint. However, thick circuit boards are undesirable and more expensive to manufacture than thinner boards having fewer layers.
A need remains for an electrical connector that facilitates routing of signal traces in a circuit board on which the connector is mounted.